Monday, March 30, 2015

I have been slaving over my second book for a long, long time. I originally got the idea for Lucia (Lucy) Melania Samantha Rossi's story about three years ago and whipped out a quick fifteen pages for the SCBWI conference. The premise had problems, but I fell in love with the characters, and decided she was worth the next chunk of my life. I noodled around as I started the submissions process on my first book.

A few short months later my whole world would change as I landed an agent and sold my first novel, The Secret Hum of a Daisy. It was a two-book deal and I felt confident that I would be able to wrap up Hum and then get started on the new project lickety-split.

Hahahahahahahahaha.

I didn't know what was coming. The year leading up to debut is a busy one. Major edits that required full immersion. Marketing strategies. Attending events as I wanted to get to know fellow writers in my area, a busy one full of amazing talent. Suffice it to say my obsessive tendencies kicked in and I did all sorts of spinning-wheel type things. Spending hours identifying libraries I could pitch to or fill out their suggest-a-book forms. Researching and then contacting blogs for interviews, etc. Hours and hours spent fretting about reviews and galleys going to the right people and wah, wah, wah.

Hours I could have (note I did not say SHOULD have) been writing about Lucy.

And the reason I didn't say should is because I try not to should all over people or myself. I feel that we do the best we can in the moment, mostly, and in those moments leading up to debut, the best way for me to tackle the massive anxiety I had about the upcoming changes in my life was to Sweat the Small Stuff. Not create a new work of art. Not channel my energy in a positive way. Not rise above my lizard brain and it's imaginings. No, I poured myself 100% into the task of freaking out. For months.

And I wouldn't change a thing.

Mostly because for the first time in my life I was all I'M FREAKING OUT RIGHT NOW AND I TOTALLY DON'T CARE. I don't usually give in to that. Usually I tuck in my shirts and eat proportionate meals and act like a completely normal person. Mostly. But there was something about the excitement and intoxication of realizing a dream and about a hundred other things I hadn't anticipated that just made me fall into a hundred pieces.

So now, I'm stuck with the repair (which interestingly, is a HUGE part of what Hum is all about). I have to lose some weight, get back to the gym and finish the second book in my contract (which, if my editor or agent is reading this, I have been working on madly since debut-I swear!!). But the weirdest thing, that thing that makes me feel no time is ever wasted? Lucia Melania Samantha Rossi? She has poured herself 100% into the task of freaking out, too, and it brings her world crashing down around her. I'm not sure I would have seen that as clearly or written it as well back then.

I'm not sure what came first, the chicken or the egg. But I'll take both (after I lose this extra fifteen pounds, that is).

Saturday, March 28, 2015

At
first glance it would seem that my experience reflects both ends of the
publishing spectrum: a first book brought to market by a large publishing house
that became a bestseller in three European countries, and a second, self-published
book that has yet to achieve anything close to the success of the first.

In
fact the two experiences are not comparable at all.It took 16 years for the first book (Katyn: Stalin’s Massacre and the Triumph of
Truth) to become a bestseller.By
then the original hardcover publisher (Scribner’s) had long since passed from
the scene; the book had been published in paperback by the Naval Institute
Press; the country rights for Poland, Czech Republic, Latvia and Hungary had
been sold; and it became a bestseller in each of those countries (twice in
Poland) except Hungary.Sales in Poland
alone were about 100,000 copies.

My
experience tells me the key number in the paragraph above is 16 years.In all that time the book was only briefly
out of print.Each time its coffin was
about to be nailed shut, it popped up in a new form.All by way of saying books can live for a
long, long time.

In
book years my latest (Honey the Dixie
Dingo Dog – Champion of the Strays) is a mere neophyte; it has only been in
print for about nine months and its promotional campaign is just revving up
now.Along the way I have shelled out a
considerable sum to get “Honey” into the print pipeline.First, I engaged a savvy and skillful firm,
Telemachus Press that specializes in self-published books.That means I own the book’s ISBN number and
all rights to the book.For its fee,
Telemachus provided copy editing and other forms of editorial support and drew
on a wealth of knowledge on pricing, the distribution chain and other matters
that I know absolutely nothing about.

One
service Telemachus does not provide is promotion.From the outset I felt sure I would need help
in getting the book sold—something more than one news release and a mention in
a catalogue.I looked at several
companies that provide promotional services to authors and finally chose New
Shelves Distribution (NSD).They offered
a straight-forward plan for getting reviews and blogs, distribution through
large municipal library systems and selling through large independent book
chains and big box stores like Costco, Target and others.One of the things I liked best was that NSD
priced its services on a flat fee basis.There have been no add-ons, and thus far NSD has delivered everything it
said it would and, perhaps, a bit more.

What
impact have these efforts had on sales?Well, thus far I’m still waiting for the gusher; so far I’ve only got a
trickle but it is increasing.Believe
me, NSD monitors sales closely and provides me with updates on a weekly basis.

So,
how do I rate the two experiences?The
first experience was one of the most frustrating of my life.When the book came out in the fall of 1991,
the Katyn Massacre was a white hot controversy.Former USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev had just been deposed by
hardliners who bitterly opposed his liberalizing policies, such as the
admission in April, 1990 of Soviet guilt in the Katyn crime.The timing for my book was perfect: it
attracted favorable reviews in leading U.S. newspapers such as the New York
Times, the Washington Post and the New York Review of Books.The book had a meager first printing of 5,000
books which sold out right away.In the
midst of a takeover by MacMillan, Scribner’s never reprinted; its promotional
effort had consisted of one news release and mention of the book in its fall
catalogue for 1991.

That
experience was so disappointing that it soured me on writing and I quit until
the opportunity to write a novel came along several years later.That, too, became a long term
experience.I finally finished a draft
but wasn’t completely satisfied with it, so I put it aside in order to write my
Honey book.This raises the question, why
such a sharp turn in the road—from non-fiction history in in World War II to
dog book for middle graders.

My
only answer is that it felt right; I fell in love with the story and wanted to
bring it alive as only a book can.Perhaps this book, too, will take 16 years to find a substantial
audience.I certainly hope not.What I can say is that I haven’t felt any of
the angst I felt before.This time at
least I’m in control for better or worse; and I like and trust the people I’m
working with.If my Honey book does not
become a bestseller, it won’t be the end of the line.I wrote a book I’m proud of and feel better
about being a writer than I ever have before.

Honey the Dixie
Dingo Dog

Written by Allen
Paul

Synopsis of the Book:

A young swamp dog named Honey yearns to rejoin her pack after
being trapped and nearly shot; luckily, she gains allies who can help her, even
as a two-legged killer stalks her old haunts.

A coyote trapper named Topper Guy is about to pull the trigger
when his sidekick, Raghead, warns, “That ain’t no coyoto.”While they discuss Honey’s fate over beers,
Miss Jane drives up.She has a rescue
operation for Dixie Dingos and often drives back roads around Savannah River
swamps looking for stray dingo pups.Sensing Honey’s peril, she tells Topper Guy he trapped a rare breed of
dog – not a coyote – and ends up paying fifty dollar to ransome for Honey and
take her to the farm where other rescues live.

Soon after that dead critters start turning up in the swamp.A game warden points to poison.Miss Jane and Honey are convinced it’s the
work of Topper Guy.How she uses Honey’s
speeed and agility to get the best of the notorious trapper and put an end to
the killings in the swamp… and how Honey’s pack gets rescued from the swamp …
make for an unusual and exciting read.

Allen
Paul’s bestselling book, Katyń: Stalin’s
Massacre and the Triumph of Truth, has been called the definitive work on a
crime that arguably remains the thorniest issue in Russo-Polish relations nearly
75 years after it was committed.In
2008, the Polish government awarded him the Commander’s Cross, its highest
honor for non-citizens, for his work on the subject.In 2010, he received an Honorary Diploma from
the Polish Foreign Ministry for “exceptional contributions to international understanding
of Polish history.”

A
lifelong writer, Allen began his career with The Raleigh Times and the Associated Press, where he covered state government
and wrote feature stories.Later, he
wrote speeches for prominent members of Congress and a member of the President’s
cabinet.While serving as President of
the Agriculture Council of America in the 1980s, he pioneered grassroots
lobbying methods to fight and eventually end economically crippling grain
embargoes.He has consulted widely on non-profit
organizational development and fundraising.

His
first love, however, has always been writing.His Katyń book tells a gripping story based on the lives of three Polish
families.Published originally by Charles
Scribner’s, it has been translated into five languages; Polish editions alone
have sold more than 100,000 copies. In a New York Times review, Robert
Conquest of Stanford University, one of the greatest living authorities on
Stalinism, called the book “a moving reconstruction of the human [story].” The
Boston Globe credited Katyn for
“[laying] bare the massive cover-up of the murders and of the Soviet guilt—a
cover-up that appears to have involved Roosevelt and Churchill, as well as
Stalin.”

Allen
recently completed his first novel, The
Amber Eye, which is based on a daring raid carried out by the Polish
underground in 1944 to captureevidence
of Stalin’s guilt in the Katyn murders.He
researched the novel on a Fulbright Research Fellowship in Poland in 2010-11.His first children’s book, Honey the Dixie Dingo Dog: Champion of the Strays
has just been published by Telemachus Press.

He
holds an undergraduate degree in English from Guilford College, and a Masters of
International Public Policy from Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced
International Studies (SAIS). He first
encountered the Katyn issue in 1986 during studies at the SAIS Center for
European Studies in Bologna, Italy.He
and his wife, Betsy, grew up in Aurora, NC.They have a daughter, a son and four granddaughters.

Anni doesn't know about Elementals, Funk, Zephyrs, excited talking
Bat-Rat creatures, and least of all, Dragons. All that changes when her
best friend Lexi is kidnapped and forces beyond Anni's control trap her
on a hidden, floating island in the Elemental world.

In
a race against time, Anni sets out to save her friend. Along the way,
she finds allies among the Elementals, but she is also presented with a
choice, one that might help save Lexi. If Anni agrees to an ancient,
open-ended contract, will her sacrifice cost her more than she's
bargained for? Or will it land her in the middle of an age-old war
between the humans, Elementals, and the dreaded Fectus?

Thursday, March 26, 2015

“If something inside of you is real, we will probably find it interesting, and it will probably be universal. So you must risk placing real emotion at the center of your work. Write straight into the emotional center of things. Write toward vulnerability. Risk being unliked. Tell the truth as you understand it. If you’re a writer you have a moral obligation to do this. And it is a revolutionary act—truth is always subversive.”

"I think perfectionism is based on the obsessive belief that if you run carefully enough, hitting each stepping-stone just right, you won't have to die. The truth is that you will die anyway and that a lot of people who aren't even looking at their feet are going to do a whole lot better than you, and have a lot more fun while they're doing it.”

Sunday, March 22, 2015

I’m going to begin with a quote from Parker Palmer from the Center of Courage and Renewal:

There is a hard truth to be told: before spring becomes beautiful, it is plug ugly, nothing but mud and muck. I have walked in the early spring through fields that will suck your boots off, a world so wet and woeful it makes you yearn for the return of ice. But in that muddy mess, the conditions for rebirth are being created.

That quote popped into my e-mail box one day (I get a daily gratitude e-mail) when I was in the middle of a hard revision. I couldn’t figure out how to make the story work and was thinking about abandoning the book completely. Then I realized I was in the plug ugly stage, but rebirth might be on the way. I had to be willing to walk through that field and get my boots dirty. Once I decided to revel in that muddy muck, to roll around in the messiness, I found my way out.

Friday, March 20, 2015

Today, we're joined by Susan Griner, who's sharing the details of her latest book, her path to publication, and biggest lessons learned...

The
Cemetery Sleeper
is a middle grade book about a boy named Freddy Pesterfield who is lured into
sleepwalking to a nearby cemetery by a vengeful ghost. Freddy desperately
searches for a remedy against the ghost named Tump, but his cousin Emily
believes Freddy's grief over his mother's death is what leads him to the
cemetery every night. As Freddy learns about the ghost's mysterious death he
begins to suspect his family's involvement in Tump's drowning. Will the secrets
Freddy unearths keep him from walking to the cemetery for one last time?

My
path to publication of a book was a slow one, but I wrote poetry and short
stories on the side and had them published in Cricket and Babybug magazines. I
recommend taking time to write something shorter and submitting it as you work
on your book. It gives you a sense of accomplishment and some writing credits
when your work is published. Committing to revision means being willing to
throw a ms away even if you've completed it which I have done. I joined
critique groups, submitted my work, went to conferences--all the usual routes
to grow as a writer. I submitted my story to an indie press called Saguaro
books which is open to middle grade novels. From there I had my first book
published.

The
best part of getting a book out there in the universe is having the students I
used to teach reading my book. I recently finished an author visit with a group
of third graders who brought up scraps of paper for me to autograph.The hardest
part about having a book out there is getting someone to notice it. Marketing
is tedious and many times fruitless. I'd rather be writing.

The
biggest surprise in my writing career is how involved friends and acquaintances
become in promoting your book. I'd had friends who have made sure my book in
available in libraries, who gave me opportunities to speak in their classrooms
at a number of schools. There are so many solitary benefits to writing for me,
but it's good to for me to remember the support from others that I have received
as well.

The
pitfalls I've faced as a writer is too much interior dialogue. I like my
characters to ruminate on their dilemmas which is the last thing a kid wants to
read. I catch myself doing it when my characters start asking themselves
questions.

My
favorite writing tip takes up a lot of time, but it works for me. If I'm having
trouble creating a character and I'm writing in third person, I'll take the
character and write about him or her in first person at length. This gives me
the voice which I am struggling with. Some writers do a character inventory but
that's not usually enough for me.

I've
finished my next manuscript which is a YA historical novel called The Hunt
for the Heavenly Horse. It's a real departure for me and took years of
research about ancient China and Central Asia. The book is about a
14-year-old nomadic boy named Tagan who refuses to give up his horse after
she’s taken by the Chinese army. Tagan sets out after her and the other 3,000
blood-sweating horses seized from his kingdom in an epic journey across the
Silk Road.He endures the brutality from the soldiers who call him a barbarian
but he later earns their respect by saving them from the hardships in the
desert.

Keep up with Susan at susangriner.com, and be sure to enter to win a copy of THE CEMETERY SLEEPER!

Thursday, March 19, 2015

Writing group today reminded me of a mistake I sometimes
make - which is feeling like I must perfect a piece of writing before I show it
to anyone.Now, I'm not saying you
should send off an unpolished draft to an agent or editor, but sometimes
another opinion, a fresh pair of eyes, can help to resolve a problem in half
the time.

Another mistake middle-grade writers sometimes make is only getting
feedback from other (adult) writers.Kids make wonderful advance readers and can sometimes put their finger
on a problem that grown-ups miss.

Now I'm off to convince my nine year old and her friends to read
another draft of my new book!